Governor for revolving doors



April 13, 1943. PEREMi ET AL GOVERNOR FOR REVOLVING DOORS Filed Feb. 17, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l E. PEREMI ET AL GOVERNOR FOR REVOLVING DOORS April 13, 1943.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1942 N714 Imam Patented Apr. 13, 1943 GOVERNOR FOR REVOLVING DOOR/S Edmund Peremi, Manhasset, and Adam Webel, Jamaica, N. Y., assignors to General Bronze Corporation, Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 1 7, 1942, Serial No. 431,238

8 Claims.

This invention relates to governors for revolving doors and the like, and its objects areto provide a governor construction which is particularly adapted to the conditions of revolving door use, which is simple and comprises a minimum number of parts, and which is smooth and effective in operation, durable and adapted to function over long periods of time, with little or no servicing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a governor for revolving doors and the like in which the rotating parts are comparatively light, so as to have small inertia, while at the same time the construction is such that adequate braking power is provided.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one preferred embodiment of the invention is shown for purposes of illustration:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view in side clever tion showing a part of a revolving door. the door supporting trolley and the governor mechanism mounted thereon; t

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the governor mechanism and driving gearing. therefor taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; i

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional View of the governor mechanism taken on line 3-4 of Fig. the door trolley being shown in elevation; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view in vertical section showing parts of the governor mechanism in braking position.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and partlcularly to Fig. 1, a part of a revolvingdoor is shown comprising wings Ill carried on a central vertical shaft II which rotates with the wings. At its upper end the shaft is suspended in a trolley l2 having wheels l3 carried by a track l4 mounted above the ceiling I5 of the door enclosure. Fixed at'the upper end of the rotatable shaft H is a gear 20 mounted in. a housing 2! carried on the trolley. Also mounted in the housing is a governor shaft 23 which is arranged to be driven from the gear 20, it being shown as having fixed to he pinion 24 which meshes with the gear 20. The shaft 23 is shown as fitting at its lower end in a ball race 26 resting on a row of balls 21 which are carried in a second ball race 22 restingon a plate 30 which is mounted in a recess 3| in the housing 2 l. The two ball races and the balls constitute a thrustbearing which supports the weight of the shaft 23 and of the mechanism 7 to bedescribed carried thereby. The plate 39, thrust bearing, shaft and parts carried thereby may be adjusted vertically in the recess M by e s of a pp t n s e 5 and l qkmit 3.5,;

The housing 2| has a governor compartment 3'! closed by top plate 38, and the top of shaft 23 is preferably supported in a ball bearing 39 carried by this top plate.

Fixed to the shaft 23 above the pinion 24 is a governor base plate 45. Mounted on the base plate are one or more lifting screws 41,; two being shown. The screws 41 may be mounted on the plate in any suitable manner and are preferably arranged for limited vertical adjustment with reference to the base plate. As illustrated the screws 41 have threaded stems 5B screwing into threaded holes in the base plate and have kerfs 5! in their lower ends so that they may be turned so as to adjust the elevation of the screw portions 41 with reference to the base plate. They maybe locked in adjustment by means of set screws 52. Slidably mounted upon the shaft 23 above the base plate 45 is the brake plate 60 carrying a friction facing 62. When the plate is raised, as shown in Fig. 4, the facing 62 is forced into frictional contact with the flat bottom surface 64 of the housing top plate 38. For raising the plate so as to force the facing against the fixed braking surface 64 centrifugal arms Ill are provided, these having sleeve portions 12 encircling the screws 41. The sleeves 12 are preferably fitted with screw threaded bushings 14 of bronze or other suitable material which screw on the screws 41. stantial pitch are preferably provided. the screws 41 being shown in the example as having a double thread. The free ends of the centrifugal arms are preferably provided with weighted heads 16. The arms and weighted heads are shaped to part-r ly. surround the shaft 23 and the central bosses of the base plate 45 and brake plate 60 and move freely in a space between such plates. The plate 60 is provided near its periphery with a pair of bosses having bores 8! which freely receive the upper ends of screws 41, which thus serve to guide the plate in its up and down movement, and also cause it to rotate with the shaft 23. The bottom faces of the bosses 80 rest on the tops of sleeves "I2 and bushings 14. When the governor rotates and the centrifugal arms swing out, the

bushings andthe sleeves of the centrifugal arms willturn relatively to the screws 41 so that they will rise on the screws, as shown in Fig. 4; This will cause the brake plate and facing 62 tobe lifted so thatthe facing will be brought into braking engagement with the surface 64, thereby acting as a friction brakeand retarding the ro- I tary movement of the governor and consequentl of the-shaft II' and the door itself, it i Coarse threads of subrotating the screw stems 55.

For retracting the centrifugal arms to their inner positions, shown in full lines in Figs. 2, spring means are provided. Such retraction of the arms will screw the bushings down on the screws 47 thereby lowering the brake plate and drawing the friction facing out of contact with the surface 64, In the construction shown the spring means for retracting the centrifugal arms comprise helical springs 85 mounted on rods 86 pivotally attached to the hub of the base plate 45. As shown the hub is provided with pins 8! which are engaged by hook shaped ends 88 of the rods. The arms 1!] are provided with lugs 89 against-which bear washers all which are engaged by the inner ends of springs 85; The outer ends of these springs engage abutments formed by adjustable nuts 92 screwing on the ends of the rods. By adjusting the nuts 92 the spring ten sion may be varied. In operation the springs 86 are adjusted to such tension that during the operation of the revolving door at normal speeds the centrifugal arms are held in retracted position, and the friction face 62 is out of engagement with the friction surface fi l. The governor then revolves freely and exerts no drag on. the normal revolution of the door. If the door is pushed too violently, however, so that the speed of rotation is increased to an undesirable rate, the centrifugal arms swing out, overcoming the force of springs 85, and, as these arms swing out r they rise on the screws l! and thereby bring the friction braking faces into engagement so as to retard the movement of the door, and prevent it from spinning at excessive speed. The desired maximum speed may be adjusted by adjusting the nuts 92. Owing to the fact that the screws 4? provide for a very substantial mu1tipli cation of power caused by the centrifugal action of the arms 76, the1atter, including the weighted heads 16 may be made comparatively light and all of the parts of the governor made light, so that the inertia of the governor itself is small, and, although it operates at a relatively high speed, it does not substantially increase the momentum of the door itself.

The entire governor mechanism may be adjusted vertically so as to adjust the relative position of the brake face 52 with relation to the top of the housing by means of the screw 35 which may be advanced so as to lift the plate 39 and consequently the thrust bearing and the shaft 23 andparts carried thereby. The'screws 4? may also be adjusted to take up for wear or for any other purpose by loosening the set screws 52 and The governor mechanism is very compact and low so as to fit within a'very limited space abovethe door, and it is of such shape as not to interfere with the movements of the door and trolley when the door is collapsed and moved to one side of its onclosure in a well understood manner. The governor may be readily removed for inspection or repair by taking off the top plate 38 and lifting out theentire governor assembly, including the shaft 23 which slides out of the thrust bearing.

While we have illustrated and described in detail certain preferredforms of our invention, it is to be understood that'changes'may be made therein and the invention embodied in other structures; We do not therefore desire to limit ourselves to the specific construction illustrated, butintend to cover the invention broadly in whateverform its principles may be utilized.

We claim: 1. In a governor of-the character described a housing, a vertical shaft mounted for rotation in the housing, a base plate mounted on said shaft, threaded members carried by said base plate, centrifuga1 arms having threaded portions engaging with said threaded members, whereby outward lateral movement of said arms due to centrifugal force will cause movement of said arms in a vertical direction, a rotatable friction member carried by said arms and movable in a vertical direction with the arms, and a fixed braking member carried by said housing adapted to cooperate with said movable friction member. 2. In a governor of the character described, a rotatable governor shaft, a base mounted thereon, a fixed brake member mounted transversely to the axis of said shaft, a movable friction member movable in a direction longitudinally of said shaft into and-out of frictional engagement with said fixed brake member, a centrifugal weight and a screw connection between said centrifugal Weight and said base member, the axis of the screw connection being parallel to the axis of said shaft, said screw connection being such that outward movement of the centrifugal weight with respect to the shaft will produce movement of said axially movable friction member into engagement with said fixed brake member.

3. In a governor of the character described, a

rotatable shaft, a base carried by said shaft, screw threaded studs carried by said base, centrifugal arms each screwing on one of said screw threaded studs, a brake member mounted on said shaft and movable axially thereof and bearing against the portions of said centrifugal arms adjacent to said studs, and a fixed brake member adapted to cooperate with said movable brake member.

4. In a governor of the character described, a rotatable shaft, a base mounted on said shaft, screw threaded studs mounted on said base, centrifugal arms having threaded sleeves screwing on said studs and having centrifugal weights at their free ends, a brake member mounted on said shaft and having socketed portions thereon registering with said studs, the ends of said studs projecting into the sockets in said socket portions and the end walls of said socket portions bearing against the threaded sleeve portions of said centrifugal arms, and a fixed brake member shaft and having socketed portions thereon reg-' istering with said studs, the ends of said studs projecting into the sockets in said socket portions and the end wall of said socket portions bearing against the threaded sleeve portions of said centrifugal arms, a fixed brake member adapted to be engaged by said movable brake member, and means for adjusting said screw studs longitudinally with respect to said base member.

'6. In a governor of the character described, a rotatable shaft, a base mounted on said shaft, screw threaded studs mounted on said base, centrifugal arms having threaded sleeves screwing on said studs, a brake member mounted on said shaft and having socketed portions thereon registering with said studs, the ends of said studs projecting into the sockets in said socket portions and the end wall of said socket portions bearing against the threaded sleeve portions of said centrifugal arms, a fixed brake member adapted to be engaged by said movable brake member, and means for adjusting said shaft and the parts carried thereby longitudinally with respect to said fixed brake member.

7. In a. governor of the character described, a rotary shaft, a base mounted thereon, said base having threaded holes therein, studs having threaded stems screwing in said holes and having screw threaded projecting portions carried by said stems, centrifugal arms mounted on each of said studs, said arms having sleeve portions through which said screw threaded projecting portions pass, said sleeve portions carry threaded bushings engaging said threaded projecting portions, rods having hooked portions pivotally attached to said base, springs mounted on said rods and bearing against said centrifugal arms, a brake member mounted on said shaft for axial movement with respect thereto and having portions engaging the sleeve portions of said qentrifugal arms, and a fixed brake member adapted to be engaged by said movable brake member when the latter is moved in a direction parallel to the axis of said shaft.

8. In a governor of the character described, a governor housing having a recess in the bottom thereof, a plate mounted in said recess, an adjusting screw adapted to elevate said plate, a thrust bearing supported on said plate, a rotatable vertical shaft carried by said thrust bearing, a base plate mounted on said shaft, a friction plate mounted on said shaft movable axially with respect thereto, centrifugal means mounted between said base plate and said friction plate for moving said friction plate away from said base plate under the influence of centrifugal force, and a fixed brake member carried by said housing and adapted to be engaged by said movable friction plate.

EDMUND PEREMI. ADAM WEBEL. 

